The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has revealed that 11,553 underage candidates have so far registered for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Oloyede made this known on Friday during an inspection of approved computer-based test (CBT) centres in Lagos, where he confirmed that 782,027 candidates had been registered within 10 days.
“Now, we have registered 782,027 candidates, and 11,553 of them are underage. We are still in the early stages, as we expect to register about two million candidates,” he said.
He noted that 443 underage candidates were registered on Friday alone, out of the 18,813 candidates recorded that morning. He attributed the rising number of underage candidates to parental pressure, stating that JAMB has introduced a system to track and understand such cases.
On the registration process, Oloyede acknowledged some technical delays but assured that they were being managed. He pointed out that despite efforts to make the process seamless, many candidates were not taking it seriously.
To enhance the registration experience, JAMB has introduced safety measures, including mandatory rule-reading before submission. “In the past, candidates could just click ‘I agree’ without reading the rules, but now, they must wait for a set time before proceeding,” he explained.
Despite some challenges, Oloyede highlighted a record registration pace, with JAMB processing up to 100,000 candidates per day, exceeding its initial target of 60,000 daily. He expressed confidence that registration would be completed ahead of schedule.